Rain Delays Racing for Another Week at Land of Legends Speedplant
DePuy extends win streak, remains undefeated with 4th straight Street Stock triumph
For the second straight week, track officials were forced to call an early cancellation of the program after a sudden cloudburst soaked Land Of Legends Raceway and sent fans and race teams rushing for cover on Hoselton Chevrolet/Sherwin-Williams Paint Stores Night.
While all qualifying finished before the skies let loose the previous weekend, heat races for the Canandaigua Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram Sportsman Modified and Mike Emhof Motorsports 305 Sprint Car classes, a make-up Smith Bros. Drywall Street Stock feature and the Dirt Modified Nostalgia Tour portion of the show were all that could be completed before the latest torrent struck the fairgrounds.
Since the program fell short of reaching the halfway mark, ticket stubs will be valid for the June 8 event that already boasts double main events for Sportsman and 305 Sprints, with more qualifying to come on Geneva Club Beverage Night.
With last week’s rain-delayed Street Stock feature combined with the Nostalgia Tour’s initial appearance of 2019, LOLR promoter Paul Cole started the show nearly an hour early to accommodate the full card. However, the rainfall that began at 7:45pm evolved into a downpour and the forecast of another storm surge resulted in the final decision to postpone the remainder of the program to next week.
Romulus’ Jonathan Kuleszo and Seneca Falls’ Ed Lawrence easily earned DMNT heat victories before Kuleszo returned to score a convincing feature win steering his #55 1970 Gemlin-bodied Modified sporting a 1986 Show Car chassis.
Kuleszo lapped all but second-place finisher Robert Johnson from Horseheads in the caution-free 15-lap finale, rolling out to a commanding 3/4-track advantage under the checkered flag. Nine old-time entries took the opening green flag, with Rochester’s Richard Taggart crossing the line fifth to earn recognition as the highest finishing “nostalgia” machine in the scheduled 13-car starting field.
The DMNT returns to LOLR for a second ride down memory lane on Aug. 10.
The one-week layoff for Adam DePuy was still not enough for his closest competition to regroup as the Macedon mainstay chalked up his fourth straight win in the 15-lap Smith Bros. Drywall Street Stock feature postponed from May 25.
“We haven’t missed a beat yet,” beamed DePuy, following his 41st career Street Stock triumph at the fairgrounds. “We’re not counting anything, just hoping (streak) goes as long as it can.”
Mirroring the start witnessed just one week earlier, pole-sitter Parker Smith again jumped out early to pace the 12-car full-fender field. Yet while a pair of yellow flags in two laps slowed the action before rain ultimately stymied last Saturday’s show, this week’s feature ran off nearly non-stop with Smith leading the first eight laps.
Seventh starting DePuy filed into seventh to begin the make-up yet needed just three times around the fast half-miler to pull into the runner-up slot. And after shadowing the leader for a handful more, the two-time reigning track points champion ducked under second-generation driver Smith exiting turn two to forge the lone lead change on lap nine.
“I have to give Parker Smith a lot of credit, he ran a great race but he made one little slip-up,” said current high-point man DePuy. “I don’t know if I would’ve caught him if not for that mistake.”
“I was going to try the top (lane) but he bobbled and I just went low. That kid is going to get his wins, he just ran a little too deep in turns one and two and pushed up the track. It comes with experience, he’s young yet,” remarked DePuy, now 45, himself a veteran of three decades with his first Ontario Fairgrounds win logged in 2002.
DePuy maintained a comfortable margin ahead of Smith in the closing stages until the only slowdown came with just one lap to go. For the second consecutive week, Jimmy Grant’s no. 36 Chevrolet Monte Carlo mount went up in smoke, this time as the Penn Yan pilot entered turn two while running seventh.
The ensuing lap 14 restart only delayed the inevitable as the winning black no. 99 IFreeze Storage & Distribution Center-A.E.Y. Enterprises-Fox’s Auto/Chevrolet Camaro provided DePuy a decisive six car-length victory at the stripe. Runner-up Smith settled for his best finish of the season ahead of Marc Minutolo, Brad Steinruck and Bob Buono.
“We’re all here to finish first but you’d still like to see the young kids coming up get their wins, and they’re going to get them,” DePuy added in victory lane after the 10-minute romp. “Blane (Smith) his dad is coaching (Parker) well, I expect to see him up here pretty soon but we’re not done yet.”
Qualifying rounds came on the heels of of the Street Stock and Nostalgia Tour events with WNY first-year regular Andrew Smith, Nick and Matt Guererri, and third-generation chauffeur Tyler Vinson posting Sportsman heat race wins. Female flash Alysha Bay and Erik Karlsen grabbed 305 Sprint qualifiers before the rain came as the grounds crew tended to track conditions during a brief intermission.
Along with the 31 Sportsman teams, 22 Modifieds signed in pitside while 20 Street Stock entries were on hand for their regular show, with three heat races lined up in both classes. Big-Block points leader Matt Sheppard from Waterloo also remains unbeaten after a 3-0 season start, while Geneva’s Kevin Root (Spt) and Marion’s Johnny Kolosek (305) top their respective point charts with one win apiece.
LEGEND LEDGER
The first month of summer goes full throttle at Land of Legends Raceway with the June 8 ‘Saturday Spectacular’ including double features for both the Canandaigua Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram Sportsman and Mike Emhof Motorsports 305 Sprint Car classes, along with a full show for the mighty Pepsi Big-Block Modified and Smith Bros. Drywall Street Stock divisions plus 1-on-1 Sportsman Races. A special Rise Up Theraputic Horse Benefit raffle will also be held during the night with race time set for 7 p.m. Pit gates unlock at 4:00 and grandstand seating opens at 5 p.m. Hot laps go green at 6 o’clock.
Canandaigua Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram Sportsman Modified
*Feature Starting Line-Up (25 laps / *rain-delayed from 5/25): 1. c21-Jeff Davoli, 2. 93-Tyler Vinson, 3. 35-Nick Cooper, 4. 25g-Nick Guererri, 5. 28a-Alex Payne, 6. 2-Loren Lincoln, 7. 9-Tim Baker, 8. 2k-Anthony Kimble, 9. 56-Garrison Krentz, 10. 1f-A.J. Lloyd, 11. 12g-Matt Guererri, 12. 11n-Ricky Newton, 13. 1x-Andrew Smith, 14. 7-Paul Guererri, 15. 3m-Mike Stanton Jr., 16. 67g-Eric Giguere, 17. 7z-Zach Payne, 18. 20x-Kevin Ridley, 19. 34-Kevin Root, 20. 42-Darryl Nutting, 21. 132-Dalton Martin, 22. 1-Billy Paine, 23. 00-Sam Hoxie, 24. 113jr.-Frank Guererri Jr., 25. 117jr.-C.J. Castelletti, 26. 31-Kane Bristol, 27. 1L-Jeff Lawrence, 28. 21v-Tony Velez, 29. 23b-Timmy Borden Jr., 30. 20-Dan Gardner, 31. 4-Keith Stevenson.
Mike Emhof Motorsports 305 Sprint
*Feature Starting Line-Up (20 laps / *rain-delayed from 5/25): 1. 13t-Trevor Years, 2. 48a-Alysha Bay, 3. X-Dan Bennett, 4. 42-Jesse Pruchnik, 5. 38-Jason Whipple, 6. 75-Brandyn Griffin, 7. 48jr.-Darryl Ruggles, 8. 26j-Johnny Kolosek, 9. 99-Andy Jacobus, 10. 74-Eric Kurtz, 11. 66-Erik Karlsen.
The Big-Block Mod 35-lap feature that was postponed due to rain on May 25 will be run in its entirety on June 15, adding to a complete program for all four classes.
The first mid-week special of the season arrives on Wed., June 26 when the Monster Trucks invade Land Of Legends Raceway. 2018 Monster Jam World Finals champion ‘Overkill Evolution’ will be in the house, headlining a big tripleheader packed with Quad Racing and a huge Demolition Derby. Tickets are on sale now on the track website, $20 adults and $15 for 12 yrs. & under.
With the 56th season finally underway, be sure to follow the point standings and breaking news online by visiting www.LandOfLegendsRaceway.com. Advance sale tickets are also available for purchase online throughout the upcoming months. Log into the website (LandOfLegendsRaceway.com), hit the red “Buy Tickets” button on the homepage, then make a selection from the list of dates & events highlighted.
Land of Legends Raceway is located at the Ontario County Fairgrounds, east of the city on Town Line Road (County Road 10), with easy access off either Exit 43 (Manchester, Route 21 South) or Exit 44 (Farmington, Route 332 South) of the New York State Thruway, just ½-hour southeast of Rochester.
Land of Legends Raceway Event Summary – June 1, 2019
Hoselton Chevrolet and Sherwin-Williams Paint Stores present
Saturday Spectacular
Pepsi Big-Block Modified
*Feature (35 laps / rain)
Canandaigua Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram Sportsman Modified
*Feature (25 laps / June 8)
B-Feature (20 laps / June 8)
Heats (8 laps)
#1: Smith, Lawrence, Lincoln, Z.Payne, Cooper, Castelletti, Stevenson, Borden.
#2: N.Guererri, Davoli, Baker, P.Guererri, Wolfe, Lloyd, Velez, Ridley.
#3: M.Guererri, Root, Stanton, Kimble, Giguere, A.Payne, Potrzebowski, Hoxie.
#4: Vinson, Krentz, F.Guererri, Paine, Bristol, Newton, Hayes.
*Consolation Starting Line-Up (8 laps / June 8): 1. 117jr.-C.J. Castelletti, 2. 1f-A.J. Lloyd, 3. 28a-Alex Payne, 4. 11n-Ricky Newton, 5. 4-Keith Stevenson, 6. 21v-Tony Velez, 7. 72-Ajay Potrzebowski, 8. 92-Wesley Hayes, 9. 23b-Timmy Borden Jr., 10. 20x-Kevin Ridley, 11. 00-Sam Hoxie.
Mike Emhof Motorsports 305 Sprint
*Feature #2 Starting Line-Up (20 laps / June 8): 1. 13t-Trevor Years, 2. 48a-Alysha Bay, 3. 66-Erik Karlsen, 4. X-Dan Bennett, 5. 38-Jason Whipple, 6. 75-Brandyn Griffin, 7. 48jr.-Darryl Ruggles, 8. 26j-Johnny Kolosek, 9. 53-Tom Fletcher, 10. 8g-Bobby Gardner.
Heats (8 laps)
#1: Bay, Griffin, Ruggles, Bennett, Fletcher.
#2: Karlsen, Kolosek, Years, Whipple, Gardner.
Smith Bros. Drywall Street Stock
*Feature (15 laps / *rain-delayed from 5/25): 1. 99-Adam DePuy, 2. 55p-Parker Smith, 3. 25b-Marc Minutolo, 4. 02-Brad Steinruck, 5. 64-Bob Buono, 6. 34q-Jason Quigley, 7. 37x-Carl Johnson, 8. 12s-Dakota Sharp, 9. 69r-Carl Whittaker, 10. 00-Mike Welch, 11. 36-Jimmy Grant, 12. 55b-Blane Smith.
*Feature (15 laps / rain)
Dirt Modified Nostalgia Tour
*Feature (15 laps): 1. 55-Jonathan Kuleszo, 2. 56-Robert Johnson, 3. 37x-Ed Lawrence, 4. 19-Megan Ciglich, 5. 91-Richard Taggert, 6. 111-Craig Chisom, 7. 00-Darrell Wilson, 8. 7-Tedd Scott, 9. 88-Brad Litzenberger, 5-Chip Gauthier(DNS), 11-Jim Hillmire(DNS), 17-Michele Kuleszo(DNS). x22-Denzil Billings(DNS).
Heats (6 laps)
#1: J.Kuleszo, Gauthier, Billings, Ciglich, Johnson, M.Kuleszo.
#2: Lawrence, Wilson, Chisom, Taggart, Hillmire, Litzenberger, Scott.
NEXT EVENT: Saturday Spectacular, June 8 @ 7pm; Geneva Club Beverage presents Big-Block Modified/Sportsman(double features)/305 Sprint(double features)/Street Stock plus 1-on-1 Sportsman Races with Rise Up Theraputic Horse Benefit.
Track Instant Info
Website: www.LandOfLegendsRaceway.com
E-Mail: info@LandOfLegendsRaceway.com
Twitter: @LandofLegendsNY
Facebook: @LandofLegendsNY
Instagram: @LandofLegendsNY
Along with recognizing its weekly 50/50 raffle fund beneficiaries, Land of Legends Raceway is proud to salute several sponsors and corporate partners that continue to help bring its fans the best Saturday night racing show in the Northeast. Listed alphabetically are current division sponsors Canandaigua Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram, Mike Emhof Motorsports, Pepsi Geneva Club Beverage, Smith Bros. Drywall; event sponsors Admar Construction Equipment & Supply Company, American Equipment, A-Verdi Storage Containers, Geneva Club Beverage, Honeoye Auto Parts/Auto Value, Pepsi/Mountain Dew/Lipton Lake Beverage, L&L Transmission & Towing, Main Energy, Red Osier Restaurant, Sherwin-Williams Paint, Tradition Automotive Group; promotional partners Champion Power Equipment, Dig Safely New York 811, Dobbers Sports Bar, Elab Smokers Boutique, Hoosier Racing Tire, Hoselton Chevrolet, Ontario County Fairboard, Radio 95.1 Rochester, Star Headlight & Lantern Co., VP Racing Fuels, Weedsport Hall of Fame, Wright Beverage, Young Real Estate Agency.
Sources: Tom Skibinski, Land of Legends Raceway PR
Don Romeo photo